Losing Weight Support Group

[kitkatz]

Well folks.  I admit the ice cream boogey man got me today.  However I was out running around all day with the hubby.  We had lunch at Red Robin.  I admit I am not the best dieter in the world.  I have kept the four pounds I lost over the last three weeks off.  Hurray for me.  Now for another four.  A little at  a time.  I raked my yard the other day for exercise.  Damned trees.  I rake they blow more leaves down on my raked areas!  That is one way to exercise!

More tips from me:
1.  Change one thing at a time. Keep the change going for one month. Habits get ingrained over 30 days not overnight.
2.  If the craving stays for more than three days, give in and have some of the food you crave.
3.  Stop eating when you body says stop eating.  My body will make me nauseous now if I go one bite over when it says to stop.  Listen to it!
4. Dialysis changes the way your body acts towards food and fluid.  Be careful when you lose or gain weight.  Know your body.
5.  Keep a positive attitude.  If you can't, see Goofynina.  She is our resident cheerleader!  Love ya Goofynina!

[mallory]

I had to go back and double check the date on the post in here when I found out that my BMI had to be under 30 to get on the list. It was Oct. 17. It's Nov 18th now, and my scale says I'm down 10 pounds since then. 10 pounds in a month - WHOO HOO!

I have kept the four pounds I lost over the last three weeks off. Hurray for me. Now for another four. A little at a time. I raked my yard the other day for exercise. Damned trees. I rake they blow more leaves down on my raked areas! That is one way to exercise!

Way to go, jbeany and kitkatz!!  We can do this!  I was good this weekend, I hope I've lost a little more but I haven't weighed yet. 

Keep up the good work, you're doing great!

[kitkatz]

Almost six pound off in four and a half weeks. Left dialysis last night at 88.7. My dry weight is set at 91.  I have got to change that dry weight now.  But everytime I do I put the weight back on.  Drat!

[jbeany]

go kitkat!   

[mallory]

Almost six pound off in four and a half weeks. Left dialysis last night at 88.7. My dry weight is set at 91. I have got to change that dry weight now. But everytime I do I put the weight back on. Drat!

Fantastic, Kitkatz!  Looks like you made it through Thanksgiving without gaining, that's great!

I had an interesting Thanksgiving.  I woke up at 4:30 the morning of Thanksgiving and I was so sick to my stomach.  We thought it might be my kidneys, so we called the doctor around 10:00.  They said it probably wasn't, but to make sure I kept hydrated and if it got worse, to go to the emergency room.  They also said if I got a fever I should go to the ER because of the immunosuppressants I'm on. 

To make a long story short, I went to the ER that night, still sick as can be, I hadn't been able to keep even an ice chip down all day, and I had a temperature of 102.  They put me in the hospital, gave me a lot of IV's and stuff, and now I'm much, much better.

I think you always need to look for the positive when something happens to you, and here's the good news in this; I still haven't been able to eat much, and I've lost 16 pounds!  I'm not kidding!  So, altogether I have lost 20 pounds.

I was hoping I wouldn't gain weight over Thanksgiving, but I never expected to lose weight!

[jbeany]

yikes mallory - that's not a good way to lose it!  Hope you're feeling better.

[Sluff]

9 more lbs will be a hundred for me.

[kitkatz]

Good going Sluff!  Wow!

[Sluff]

Thanks and your doing well also.

[mallory]

9 more lbs will be a hundred for me.

Sluff, that's FANTASTIC!  You're a role model for all of us!  You must have great willpower, that is so good.

yikes mallory - that's not a good way to lose it! Hope you're feeling better.

Thanks jbeany, I am feeling better.  I know it's not a good way to lose it, but right now, I'm just thankful that I did lose some, since I was sick anyway.  Usually when I get sick they raise my Prednisone and I gain weight.  This was a nice change.

[Sluff]

Don't give me too much credit cause I'm sure the meds had a lot to do with it, but I'll take some credit so thanks.

[angieskidney]

Even though I haven't read the last 4 pages (there are TOO MANY pages on IHD for me to keep up with every section!!) I wanted to add this thought (tell me if it has already been discussed):

I heard of how even though our dialysis pulls out a lot of our protein we want to keep and even though we can't eat most foods diet specialists tell anyone working out to eat, we can do one thing they do!! (I got this off the health channel here in Canada)

If we eat 6 times a day instead of 3! I was thinking about this and that makes so much sense! I mean, I tend to eat only 3 or usually even just 2 times a day! SOMETIMES even just once a day every day! So my body obviously thinks it is starving a lot and I am actually encouraging my body to lower its metabolism!!

If I ate more often I could eat smaller meals and not make my body go into the "I'm starving/I'm full" cycle!! It makes so much more sense to eat more often!

What do you guys think?

[Fox_nc]

I've heard this too Angie, and actually, my mom recently lost 35 pounds using this method.  She didn't diet, because she doesn't believe in it, but ate more times a day and made what she called "healthier decisions."  She's been overweight for at least 15 years and this has worked great for her.  I tried it before dialysis with no luck, but come to find out that extra 20 lbs I had put on was all "fluid"  :-)

[angieskidney]

I've heard this too Angie, and actually, my mom recently lost 35 pounds using this method.  She didn't diet, because she doesn't believe in it, but ate more times a day and made what she called "healthier decisions."  She's been overweight for at least 15 years and this has worked great for her.  I tried it before dialysis with no luck, but come to find out that extra 20 lbs I had put on was all "fluid"  :-)

Well then maybe you did lose but didn't realize it was the fluid?

Anyway, I have been really watching these shows and I ordered a free exercize booklet for dialysis patients (only available in the USA so I had to get Jeff to get it) but I am having a hard time ever since last summer when I got Peritonitis and ended up hospitalized for 6 weeks with pneumonia in the Cardiac Care Unit and went from 140lbs down to 112lbs by being so sick. I switched from PD to HD and I found I had lost so much muscle that it is harder for me to be active without being so tired. My Hemoglobin is 118 (so between 11 and 12) and I am tired out just by biking my bicycle to work and working 2 hrs reorganizing and refacing the shelves and biking back home.

What else would you suggest I do since I am unable to lose even 1 pound

[anja]

  Congrats to ALL of you !  I have been trying to lose but can't seem to get off the 77Kg mark by much.  Vascillate on either side by 1-1.5 kg. but keep coming back to 77.  I am going to try some of your tips. My weakness is nibbling at night while sitting here at the computer... Naughty, naughty, I know...mindless eating, but I keep doing it.  ( so far tonight I have had a whole grapefruit, 2 single popsicles and 5 pieces of sugar-free cinnamon hard candies)  Tried  chewing gum but have TMJ so pay for it later.  But I feel I can garner some will-power off all of you by reading this section loyally!  

[Fox_nc]

What else would you suggest I do since I am unable to lose even 1 pound

Honestly, when I have problems losing "weight" I try to avoid the numbers.  I know it's hard being weighed 3 times a week :-)  But sometimes it's easier to lose the weight if you concentrate more on how you feel.  How do your clothes fit?  Do you feel you look better?  That kind of thing.  The numbers can be stressful and discouraging.  I have friend who is in the nutrition/fitness industry and I asked her about losing weight with no energy and she suggested adding a small walk (5-10 minutes) to my routine every other day, which I do on non-dialysis days.  With all the walking and cycling you do, it might sound stupid, but your body is use to that exercise.  Just need to add a small amount to it to get some result.  Hope this helps!

[sandman]

There is a trick to loosing weight when you eat 6 times a day.  First of all, they need to be very small meals.   For example: one hotdog or a half of a sliced turkey sandwich.  Doing this keeps your stomach working and can give you more of an even flow of energy through the day.  BUT, you need to take advantage of this by doing a little excesize about 1 hour after you eat and don't eat with-in 3 hours of going to bed.

[angieskidney]

BUT, you need to take advantage of this by doing a little excesize about 1 hour after you eat and don't eat with-in 3 hours of going to bed.

That is the part I am bad at! Like Anja I eat at the computer (practically ALL the time!!) and so I snack on MORE than she does .. bags of corn chips (carbs carbs carbs .. but without exercize I know I am being real stupid!  ) and only eating snack foods and then finally going to the kitchen for real food only when I am really hungry and snacks aren't filling me up .. ya maybe that is why I am not losing any weight but only gaining .5kg every other week  steadily since I started gaining weight from being sick..

[mallory]

Anja and Angie, I'm a snacker. too.  But, one of the most valuable things I learned at Weight Watchers (I've tried them all!) was to snack on the right things.  Anja, just try sugar-free popsicles, they have very few calories and they're really good.  Try carrot sticks or celery sticks.  Or, I mix a little apple cider vinegar, Splenda and a tiny bit of water and put it on cucumber slices. 

If you're careful, you can eat quite a few snacks without adding many calories.  You can do this!  I believe that ESRD patients can do anything, look at what we're already doing!  If we can cope with this disease, we can do anything!!

[angela515]

Snacking is a big issue for me too. I feel hungry all the time, but I believe that is because I am probably thirsty. They say if your hungry drink an 8oz glass of water, and wait 20 mins to see how hungry you really are because most people are actually thirsty when they think their hungry. For us however, we can't do that.. as we have to watch our fluids... so MAYBE we really ARE thirsty more often then not when we think were hungry... but nothing we can really do to satisfy that feeling but eat right now. So like mallory noted, I agree.. snack, but snack well... I have been eating carrot sticks and celery sticks lately, there pretty filling. Sucking on sugar-free hard candies is good too... they last awhile and something is in your mouth, so you cant eat anything else till its gone,   

I don't know about anyone else, but one of the most frustrating things for ME, is having to stand on the scale everynight and every morning (cause im on PD)... I wish it could be once a week... because I hate standing up there seeing gains... and then in the morning I am back to my "normal dry weight" but its the same # all the time, meaning i'm not losing weight, and it takes time to lose weight, but weighing everyday makes me feel like I aint getting nowhere... 

[angieskidney]

Snacking is a big issue for me too. I feel hungry all the time, but I believe that is because I am probably thirsty. They say if your hungry drink an 8oz glass of water, and wait 20 mins to see how hungry you really are because most people are actually thirsty when they think their hungry. For us however, we can't do that.. as we have to watch our fluids... so MAYBE we really ARE thirsty more often then not when we think were hungry... 

Ya I have come to the same conclusion myself

[sandman]

Snacking is a big issue for me too. I feel hungry all the time, but I believe that is because I am probably thirsty. They say if your hungry drink an 8oz glass of water, and wait 20 mins to see how hungry you really are because most people are actually thirsty when they think their hungry. For us however, we can't do that.. as we have to watch our fluids... so MAYBE we really ARE thirsty more often then not when we think were hungry... 

Ya I have come to the same conclusion myself

Really    I have never thought of it that way.  When I notice my stomach growl, I know I am hungry and when my mouth is dry, I know it's time for a drink.  I just never thought of it any other way.  Interesting.

[jbeany]

Add diabetes into the mix, and you never know what the problem is . . . high blood sugar makes me thirsty.  Low makes me feel hungry.  Hard to listen to the body's natural signals when all the wires are crossed!

[Sluff]

I have diabetes and am always thirsty.

[angieskidney]

Snacking is a big issue for me too. I feel hungry all the time, but I believe that is because I am probably thirsty. They say if your hungry drink an 8oz glass of water, and wait 20 mins to see how hungry you really are because most people are actually thirsty when they think their hungry. For us however, we can't do that.. as we have to watch our fluids... so MAYBE we really ARE thirsty more often then not when we think were hungry... 

Ya I have come to the same conclusion myself

Really    I have never thought of it that way.  When I notice my stomach growl, I know I am hungry and when my mouth is dry, I know it's time for a drink.  I just never thought of it any other way.  Interesting.

I didn't before dialysis neither but when you are on dialysis .. you have to figure out new things